For the past three days, the junction of Avenue Road and S.P. Road has almost been out of bounds for both pedestrians and motorists. Pedestrians are forced to clamber over the knee-high garbage on the road, while motorists do their best to avoid the mess, as they travel along the road, which is a crucial link in the heart of the central business district.

C.V. Krishnamurthy, proprietor of Kusum General Stores, told The Hindu that garbage had not been cleared in the area for the past three days. “Every day, I have been calling the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and lodging complaints. I have even tried to get in touch with the officials concerned, who have only assured me that it will be cleared soon,” he complained.

He said some local traders had resorted to setting the garbage on fire. “This has compounded our problem. It is difficult to even breathe at times because of the noxious smoke.”

Rahul Goyal, treasurer of Karnataka Hardware and Allied Merchants’ Association, accused the BBMP of not doing a proper job. “Only half the waste is picked up. Even the roads are not swept regularly. Walking becomes difficult, with mounds of garbage left uncleared,” he said.

‘Lorry under repair’

When contacted, local councillor P. Dhanraj admitted that the garbage had not been cleared for “a couple of days”. “The BBMP has been managing the collection and disposal of waste in this ward after the previous contract expired. The lorry used to collect the waste from the area is under repair. The waste accumulated will be cleared on Saturday,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, BBMP officials claimed that the civic body had not issued a work order to the contractor collecting the waste for the corporation since June this year. “The private contractor has been working without the work order since then. The files pertaining to the work order have already been sent to the officials concerned,” the official said.

It remains to be seen when the BBMP will get its act together and clear the mess.